Note that the period of time being discussed is before the supposed
"worldwide" flood of Noah (about 4,300 years ago). The fact that
Egyptian culture existed before and after the timeframe given for
Noah's Flood in the Bible has long been a critical flaw in young earth
creationism, in regard to the literal interpretation of the Genesis
story of the flood in connection with the literal interpretation of
the Genesis creation story (related to the timeframe given by the
genealogies of Genesis chapters 5 and 11). In other words, as observed
through Egyptian archaeology, there was never any worldwide flood
wiping humans off the face of the planet. The Bible story is a
religious myth.

The pyramid of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been rediscovered after
being buried for generations, archaeologists announced today.

The pyramid is thought to house the tomb of King Menkauhor, who is
believed to have ruled in Egypt's 5th dynasty for eight years in the
mid-2400s B.C.

Long since reduced to its foundations, the structure was previously
known as Number 29 or the "Headless Pyramid." It was mentioned in the
mid-19th century by German archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius.

Then it disappeared in the sands of Saqqara, a sprawling royal burial
complex near current-day Cairo.

It took Egyptian archaeologists about a year and a half just to remove
all the sand above the pyramid.

"After Lepsius the location of the pyramid was lost and the
substructure of [the] pyramid never known," said Zahi Hawass,
secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

"It was forgotten by people until we began to search this area and a
hill of sand, maybe 25 feet [7.6 meters] high."

Old Kingdom Clues

Nothing on the pyramid specifically names its owner, and the majority
of the structure has been destroyed, so Egyptian archaeologists had to
put several clues together to identify it.

Past archaeologists have disputed the date of the pyramid, usually
putting it in either the Old Kingdom, between 2575 and 2150 B.C., or
the Middle Kingdom, between 1975 and 1640 B.C.

But the recent research determined that the pyramid lacked the winding
mazes typical of a Middle Kingdom temple.

Instead, the lack of artwork and inscriptions, as well as the
structure's red granite blocks, were typical of Old Kingdom pyramids,
according to Hawass.

The burial chamber also contained the lid of a sarcophagus made of
gray schist, a type of rock often used in the Old Kingdom.

What's more, the newfound pyramid resembles the pyramid next to it,
which belongs to the first pharaoh of the 6th dynasty, Teti, who ruled
from 2345 to 2181 B.C. That suggested the lost pyramid could also come
from the 5th dynasty.

The neighboring pyramid also pointed to the owner of the pyramid as
Menkauhor, since he was without a discovered burial tomb.

"There were missing pyramids of the kings, and this is one of them,"
Hawass said.